Cooling unit construction



June 6, 1933. L (j,- CQPEMAN 1,912,827

COOLING' UNIT CONSTRUCTION Filed June 10, 1930 INVENTOR.. [/Oy( Cape/man ma@ I ATTORNE Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES LLOYD e.

PATENT OFFICE CCPEMAN, 0F FLINT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO COPEMAN LABORATORIES COMPANY, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN,

A coRronA'rIoN or MICHIGAN COOLING UNIT CONSTRUCTION i Application mea :une 1o,`

This invention relates to coolin unit construction, and particularly to e cient .and ornamental means for preventing the. f ormation of frost" at the front or operating face of the unit. I

This application is a continuation in part of my prior application No. 396,190, file d September 30, 1929. In such prior application I disclosed the use of a com lete rubber apron for the front of a coo ing unit in additionto individual closure members formed of rubber for contacting with the front of the portion of the' cooling unit for isolating individual sharp freezing cham-v bers.

It is the object of the present invention to rovide a rubber front for a lowside or coo ing unit similar in a way'to 'therubber apron disclosed in said above copending aping containers at any time.

plicationv, but preferably of sponge rubber or similar material so as to iill` in the space which is usually provided. between the front of a cooling unit and the ornamental front frame therefor. In this case sponge rubber or similar material provides all the advantages of the air space heretofore lused and in addition efficiently protects the com plete front of the cooling unit to permit theV insertion or withdrawal of the sharp freez- Some of the main features of this novell sponge rubber front included the'utilization of the air cells so that the front provides a "relatively good insulator as well as provid- 352v ,adhere;f.Use is' made'jofj' the relative thicki'ngj a material to which ice does not readily ness yfofzfthe',sponge rubber whereby to pro-l f vl.vide neat and wellfitting doors for the sharp u freezing' chambers and use i's alsok made of they surface openings-jin the sponge rubber for eflici'ently 'wiping'of't one or more walls 'l of the sharp freezing containers as they 'are cooling unit.

insertedinto the respective chambers in the In the drawing:

Fig, 1 is a perspective View of a typical embodiment of the presentinvention when used in connection with a cooling unit of a domestic refrigerator.

Fig.v 2 is a fragmentary sectional View of 1930. Serial No. 460,238.

a cooling unit such as illustrated in Fig. 1 and illustrating the manner of positioning the sponge rubber front between the ornamental plate and the front of the cooling unit as well as the manner of providing means for permitting the insertion and removal of a sharp freezing container.

Fig. 3 illustrates a modified form of front construction 'wherein reinforcing means are embedded in the rubber to add rigidity as well as resiliency.

l Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustratin the manner of clamping the front inem er between the plate and the cool- 1n unit.

ig. 5 is a perspective view, artly in section, of a modified form of coo ing unit and. front construction.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a corner of the unit shown in Fig. 5 showin in detail the manner ofv clamping-the rub er front around its edges.

*ing unit. Such front has usually been 4-spuiced from the cooling unit so as to provide Ian ".insulating air' space designed to prevent-or retard frostinglup Vof the ornamentalplate.r l However,` unless the operator wasyerydiligent in watching the defrosting operations, it is well known that the cooling unit built up a very thick layer of frost or' ice o'nfall sides. ,One of the uses of the present invention resides in the re. placement of thisornamenta'l plate. a A standard cooling-block is. shown as at l in Fig. 2, provided with suitable sharp freezing chambers .2 andsharp freezing con tainers 3. A standard ornamental frame for the front of the coolin unit is indicated as at 4 and is providedwith suitable apertures 5 for registering with the sharp freezing chambers 2.,

In the space between the frame 4 and cooling unit l I have provided what might be termed a rubber filler member or front member 6. This member 6 is preferably formed of sponge rubber and of a thickness greater than the distance of the frame 4 of the front of the cooling'unit 1. The frame 4 is usually screwed into place on the front of the cooling unit and it will be obvious that the rubber filler or front member 6 can be readily ositioned at the front of the cooling unit andp the frame member then positioned thereon and screwed home so as to compress a portion of the' sponge rubber, as best indicated in Figs. 2 and 4. This space between the frame member and the front of the cooling unit is thus completely filled up with a very efficient insulating material whereby the ornamental frame member, as well as the entire front of the cooling unit is effectively prevented from frosting up. Over long periods of operation I have found that the cooling unit will build up many inches of ice around the sides thereof while the front will remain completely free so that access is had to the sharp freezing compartments at all times.

The members 6 may be formed in one single piece or in a series of separate blocks each held in place by a portion of the front frame member 4, as is best illustrated in Fig. 2. Regardless of whether the front member is formed integrally or in separate blocks I prefer to so fabricate the same as to provide door members 7 adapted to register with the sharp freezing chambers of the cooling unitwhereby the sharp freezing containers maybe readily removed or inserted in place by merely opening the door member or members.

The lower edge 8 of each opening formed by the door members is preferably positioned slightly above the bottom of each sharpfreezing container so that when the sharp freezing container is inserted into position as best illustrated in Fig. 2, the bottom of said container will be scraped clean and dry by the sponge rubber edge so as to materially reduce the tendency of the sharp freezing conhiner vto stick to the supporting shelf. The wide surface 8 formed by this sponge rubber presents a very effective scraping surface. In addition the thickness of the sponge rubber front makes it possible to obtain a very easy and still a relatively tight lit between the door and its opening.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 I prefer to use a molded cooling unit such as stone or the like, and in forming such cooling unit I prefer to use the rubber front as one wall of the complete unit. In forming such a unit I may provide a sheet metal container 9 which may be drawn or stamped in the usual manner so as to be completely enclosed except for the top or front. A plastic stone lining 10 may then be poured in the usual manner so as to form a stone .cooling unit with suitable sharp freezing chambers. Five sides of the Ysheet metal member 9 will thus completely enclose the stone walls and protect the same from moisture and the like. It will also be understood that suitable refrigerating members are embedded in or positioned in heat conducting relation with the stone Wall, as disclosed in my Patent No. 1,671,762.

After the stone is poured and sets in place, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, then the sponge rubber mat or front 11 may be inserted in place and the peripheral flange 12 of the container 9 turned over to compress Aand secure the rubber front in position as best illustrated in Fig. 6. Such rubber front therefore effectively closes up the open end of the stone cooling unit as well as insulating the front of said cooling unit to prevent the formation of frost or ice thereon. The interior of the sharp freezing chambers of the stone cooling unit may be coated with enamel or otherwise covered in any suitable manner. When said rubber front is used as a single integral article, as best shown in Fig. 5, and is held in place at its edges, it presents a very`neat appearance and may be given any suitable tint corresponding to the color scheme of the entire unit.

What I claim is:

1. In a cooling unit of the type having a iixedly positioned front frame spaced therefrom, the combina-tion of a cover for the cooling unit filling the space between said front frame and cooling unit and held in place by the front frame and having the propertles of a relatively good insulator and material to which ice does not readily adhere.

2. In a refrigerating cabinet of the type having a freezing compartment, a cooling unit therein, a door for the compartment, sharp freezing chambers, and a ixedly positioned front member between the door and cooling unit and spaced from the cooling unit, the combination of a cover for the cooling unit of compressible Ainsulating material held in position between a surface of said cooling unit and said front member, said cover being provided'with ydoor members registering withthe sharp freezing chambers.

3. A sharp freezing unit comprising a main body having one or more sharp freezing chambers and a sponge rubber cover member secured to the front of said unit for normally sealing the same from the surrounding atmosphere and having one or more door members registering with said sharp freezing chamber or'chambers.

4. A cooling unit comprising a sharp freezing unit, a front frame therefor and a sponge rubber cover -member clamped between the front of said sharp freezing unit and said frame, said sharp freezing unit being provided with one or more sharp freezing chambers and said cover being provided with one or more openings registering with said chamber or chambers.

5. A sharp freezing unit comprising a main body having one or more sharp freezin chambers and a cover member of insu ating material for the front thereof having openings registering with said chamber or chambers, the lower surface of the opening or openings in said cover member bein positioned adjacent the bottom of sai chamber or chambers presenting a wiping surface for the bottom surface of the sharp freezing containers whereb said containers will be wiped olf when t e same are inserted into position in the sharp freezing chamber or chambers.

6. A sharp freezing unit comprising. a main body having one' or more sharp freezing chambers and a sponge rubber cover member for the front thereof having openings registering with said chamber or chambers, the lower surface of the opening or openings in said cover member being positioned adjacent the bottom of said chamber or chambers whereby the bottom surface of the sharp freezing containers will be wiped olf when the same are inserted into position in the sharp freezing chamber or chambers.

7. A cover member for the front of sharp freezing units formed of relatively thic sponge rubber, a portion of said cover member being cut away to form a door or doors, the relatively wide cut away portions of the door or doors and the corresponding apertures resenting relatively wide surfaces for seal ing the doors.

8. A sha-rp freezing unit having one or more sharp freezing chambers and a ledge adjacent the front lower wall of each chamber presenting a wiping surface for the bottom of the sharp freezing container or containers.

9. A sharp freezing unit having interior walls formed of stone and exterior enclosing walls formed partly of metal and partly of rubber.

10. A sharp freezing unit having interior walls formed of stone and exterior enclosing walls formed partly of metal and partly of rubber, a rubber enclosing wall being positioned at the fr0nt-of the unit and provided with means for permitting access to the sharp freezing chamber or chambers of the unit.

l1. A sharp freezing unit comprising an outer container formed of five Walls and interior walls formed of a plastica-Hy applied material allowed to harden. said outcr container forming a mold for said plastcally applied material. one or more sharp freezing chambers within said unit and a rubber front held in surfaces of the front o plied material.

12. A sharp freezing unit formed of stone and having one or more sharp freezing chambers, metal walls enclosin at least two sides of said stone unit an a rubber front for said stone unit -held in place by said metal side walls.

13. In .a refrigerating cabinet of the type having a freezing compartment, a cooling unit therein, a door for the compartment, sharp freezing chambers, and a fxedly positioned front member between the door and cooling unit and spaced from the door, the combination of a cover for the cooling unit of compressible insulating material held in position between a surface of said cooling unit and said front member, saidcover being provided with door members registering with the sharp freezing chambers and being imperforate except for the openings formed by the door members.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

LLOYD G. ooPEMAN.

position against the said plastically ap- 

